Is my Hi-Power a Browning?

[Gunsmoker]

I have a serial number on the frame of my gun, but I can't find one on the frame or the barrel. How do I locate the serial number on my frame or barrel?

I went to Browning's website ...

http://www.browning.com/services/dat...tail.asp?id=35

...and my serial number does not match anything on that page.

Mine starts with 511MX5****

They say that their recent hi-powers start with 510.....


I know that FN Hi-Powers and Browning's are the same, but this is a matter of principal. I expect to get what I buy. Not to mention, the store I bought it from seems kind of shady.

 

[MMMike]

If it is a Browning, it will say so on the slide.

Pictures?

 

[Gunsmoker]

It says Browning on the slide. The slide appears to be Browning, but there is no serial number on the slide or barrel. The only serial number is on the frame of the gun and the frame does not show what company the frame is.

 

[brownie0486]

The serial number will always be on the frame [ thats the gun part of the gun and stays with the weapon even though you may change slides, barrels etc.

There are no serial numbers on thre slide and barrel, most makers do not do this for the most part.

As to your markings above the trigger in another thread, many firearms have them here and there, it's nothing to worry about in the least.

Between the two posts, you seem quite concerned about both subjects. Is this your first gun? Did you buy it from a dealer? If you did, it was sold as a Browning likley on the 4377 form you signed.

Brownie

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. Your Mk III was made in 2003, based on the MX part of the serial number.

Most "Browning-marked" Hi Powers sold here do not have the serial number anywhere on the entire gun other than the frame.

I recall a Mk II that I owned that had a rough finish and the slide, frame, and bbl had the gun's serial number on them. It was probably originally intended for a military/police sale elsewhere in the world but wound up on the US commercial market. In the US, the frame is the part that must have the serial number. In other countries, it may be the bbl or slide.

My Hi Power Mk III pistols are older than yours, but here's what's on the slide:

"Browning Arms Company Morgan, Utah & Montreal, P.Q." and it's on the side opposite the ejection port.

Another one is marked the same, but on the ejection port side and slightly in front of it, the gun is marked:

"Made in Belgium
Assembled in Portugal"

The odd markings around the trigger guard are proof marks.

If I remember correctly, one of the gunsmiths on another site remarked that a certain run of Hi Powers had a slightly thicker front grip strap and were a bit better suited for checkering. I think he said that these had serial numbers starting with "511".

I checked and around and found the post. It is by Ted Yost, a well-known Hi Power gunsmith:

"To clarify, Some of the MKIII Hi-Powers have very faint serial numbers. I don't overstamp these, as that would obliterate the original numbers - illegible as they may be. I re-strike the same serial number in another location where it can be read without a microscope. This can be either the side of the frame or under the grip panels. In either case, I still stipple around the serial number on the frontstrap. The only guns we accept for checkering are Parcticals, FN's, or the odd "511" series MKIII's."

Hope this helps.

Best.

 

[Gunsmoker]

Thanks man.

I'm just paranoid. This is my first gun and I'm expecting it to do everything.

 

[brownie0486]

Do a google search and you can read anything and everything about the gun you own.

No, your Browning won't do everything, NO gun will do everything.
Brownie

 

[Eightball]

No, your Browning won't do everything, NO gun will do everything.

M79s do everything. Game, people, HD, anti-vehicle.

Ammo's expensive, and you can't really hold more than 1 round at a time, but still........

Sounds like you got a nice find on your BHP.

 

[brownie0486]

They don't hold enough ammo to take on more than one at a time without reloading---

They don't do everything either. Like I said, expect too much from any weapon platform and stand disappointed at one time or another. No weapon does everything, and the more he researches the history of his weapon on the net [ he obviously has web access and hence can google search it ], the less he's likely to expect something the gun is not capable of doing.

For instance, does he know that over 72 nato countries at one time in history used that platform as their national defense sidearm? If he searched the net, he'd learn that and more about the nuances and different models of that weapon in one nights reading.

Brownie